2/25/11

tulips the fresh produce markets around my house fucking suck. bloor and ossington... there's nothing. i had to go "grocery" shopping at shoppers drug mart on tuesday. do you have any idea how much that sucks? but when you go a little more east, around the honest ed's area, there are tons of amazing little independent markets. i go ape shit; the fruits and veggies are so fresh and cheap (unlike a certain shop at the end of my street where everything all the time is moldy and wrinkled; i think it's a front for something illegal) and i end up leaving with bags and bags of food. but these particular markets always sell little bundles of tulips- my favorite flower in the world. i swear, every time i pass i buy at least two bundles. even twice a week at a time. they are beautiful, clean and instantly cheer up my little cave of a love shack jesse and i share. if you're ever wanting to buy me flowers: TULIPS.

hollow body guitarsi told jesse the other day that i really wanted to get an old hollow-body electric guitar. i've been playing guitar since i was 11 but haven't been playing as often as i would like. i've been kind of sick of the acoustic, and haven't been able to find a hollow body with the look and feel that i want. then jesse mentions that there was a 1967 red sunburst harmony hollow body at the guitar shop... i gotsta tells ya... it's fucking incredible. i've now vowed to start playing more guitar and master my craft, MY CRAFT. i'm gonna buy it. it's mine! MINE.

oh hay there hollow body, you free later? wanna go for a drink? can i stroke you?

i'm coming outdiana, work it girl. this song is hilarious and every gay mans theme song. but something about this song cannot be denied. diana took the term "fierce" to new highs with this little diddy. and those that are too afraid to admit they like this song will dance to the 'mo money, mo problems' version of it but comon', it's the same song and that's why we all like it. VOGUE.

fridayshave i actually been doing weekly "things i love fridays" and never made friday one of the things i love? blasphemy. since working a regular 9-5'ish office job for nearly 5 months, i've come to appreciate fridays in a way that is unexplainable. fridays in elementary school, high school, college and even other jobs were never quite like the one's i've got now. it's almost an extreme internal explosion of relief and relaxation that comes over my body to the point where i'm on the brink of falling asleep. after 5 nights a week of 6 hours of sleep a night, ridiculously early mornings, shitty morning commutes and hours upon hours of eye-twitches and yawning, friday is my guardian angel in candy apple red vinyl stacked pumps. gimmie a kiss, friday... i missed you.

incredible

﻿﻿﻿ my new zigi bootiesjess and i had a much needed little stroll on queen st. last weekend and passed heel boy (682 queen st. west), walked in and within ten minutes had ourselves a new pair of sexy shoes. jesse got an awesome pair of lacost black leather dress shoes which are mega hot on him, and i got a pair of zigi booties on sale. they're my favorite. they look super cute with tights and a dress, but awesome with black jeans and a jean jacket. and they were bumped down from $120 to $60; 50% off! insanity. i suggest you roll by there... for your feet's sake.
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so so sooo cute. so cute! even cuter on! you have no idea!

the pistonjesse and i's local watering hole, the piston (937 bloor st. west), is turning into one of the cities hot spots. jesse's been playing shows there since it opened, and myself and my dj partner lindsay have spun there quite a few times ourselves. the dudes who work there are great, the bar itself is usually always hoppin' and if you've ever had the chef shane make you something to eat, you'd definitely be back for more. i'm heading there tonight to see ben stevenson and the wondertones, featuring jesse and my buddies ryan gavel and denis p, and the beauty of it all is i could get fall-down sloppy and most likely still make it home in one piece. ain't that convenient! ﻿

photo from blogto.com

lunchi'm starving, yo. i think i'm gonna go get myself something to munch. sitting and thinking about treating yourself to something a little extra nice for a friday lunch is fun to do; should i get sushi or pad thai? st. lawrence market pizza or spaghetti? imma let you finish, but friday lunch is the best lunch ever.

authors note: i just realized 90% of my posts featured/talked about/related to jesse. are you guys sick of him yet? christ, i'm surprised i'm not.

2/18/11

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﻿fashion approval from lindsay so i was discussing this last night as lindsay and i were about to embark on a night out for the vive magazine launch party and quick a drink afterwards to check out the newest college st. bar the crawford... it's really not worth asking your boyfriend if you look okay before you head out the door. jesse came home last night as i was just finishing up getting ready. most of the time he doesn't really comment on how i dress (but i know he digs) and he has no problem telling me i look beautiful all the time (which i love) but the first thing to come out of his mouth last night was, "are those new pants?" followed by a "you're a crazy bitch" face. i had gotten myself a pair of american apparel tweed high-waisted dark dreen slacks, and i fucking love them. jesse on the other hand, not so much. and as i'm watching lindsay get dressed in front of her man phil (she was wearing the sweetest black romper from top shop with a white peter-pan collar), he comments that he's not a big fan of the high-waisted-ness and he deemed it a "play suit". hilarious, but what the hell is it with dudes and hating certain fashion choices girls make that all other girls know to be fucking awesome? here are the following things i've noted in the last 25 years of my life that dudes just don't get:

head scarves, wraps, fashion half-turbans (women have been rocking these for decades, dudes. they're fabulous, elegant and sexy, if done right. but no, i don't work at molly maid so don't ask me again.)

oh hai, where'd ya get those cute pants?.

whatever dudes, justjustjustjustjust... whatever. and like i told the boys last night, the golden rule:

"girls don't dress for boys; girls dress for other girls"

bringing fresh fruit to the office why didn't i think of this before? i started my office career almost half a year ago with eating crap food all the time for lunch; i sorta wanted to wander around and discover all of the food options around my building. got bored, fast. didn't want to waste money anymore (and lord knows i have been wasting it in other ways, like taking a cab to work every day this week, yaaay!) but i walk by fresh fruit and veg markets nearly every day along bloor and i more often than not pick something up. felt like shit today, and when i'm groggy/sick/hung-over i crave super fresh, cold things. like ice cold orange juice, really chilled grapes, a really cold apple... weird? so i brought a big bag of grapes to the office, cleaned them in the kitchen sink at work and they're currently staring me in the face on my desk. what a huge difference, right? but i'll most likely be eating wendy's for lunch today. so... everything i said seems somewhat meaningless.

tickling i know, being tickled is actually the worst. what's even worse than that is when the person tickling you holds you down and you can't get away. someone usually ends up losing an eye. i know that when someone even brushes up against my feet, i fucking lose it. but... the tables always turn when you're the tickler, don't they? for example, i tickle jesse. jesse is very ticklish. i don't tickle him to annoy/drive him crazy, even though that's what i end up doing. i enjoy the satisfaction i get when i see jesse smile hugely, because he's not much of a smiler. that and this hilarious chipmunk-like laugh seems to come out of everyone when you tickle them. i don't laugh, i just scream. like a man-bear. you don't want to tickle me. ever.

when you like a cover of a song better than the original i take my cover songs very lightly; i will give a band or artist the benifet of the doubt for having the balls to cover an amazing song, but most of the time it's shrug-worthy. but in the motown, 60's soul era, a lot of huge soul artists were covering eachother's songs and in such an amazing, respectable way that sometimes i can't help but bite my tongue... and like it better than the original. for example, the jackson 5 i want you back. everyone knows and loves this song, but have you heard david ruffin (from the temptations)'s cover? i can bet that a lot of you might even prefer it to the original. have you heard gladys knight and the pips's version of heard it through the grapevine? incredible. merry clayton's cover of the stones's gimmie shelter? bangin'. there are some incredible soul cover songs, so i reccommend you do some research and get them on your ipod/record player immediately.

my upcoming weekend plans i tonight bangs & blush are djing at savoy for "fuck it" where lindsay and i will be playing everything from the spice girls to the village people to oasis to ol' dirty bastard. sure to be a dirty night. tomorrow night, us ladies will then be taking back shake, rattle & roll at clintons with another sweaty dance-floor party where we're playing all our 60's soul/motown/rock & roll favs. a definite do-not-miss. then sunday, i'm off to the dakota tavern to see the best soul/cover-band in the city, ride the tiger, play all of my favorites as i dance wildly like a drunken idiot. lots of dancing in my near future; i hope my bod can keep up.

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despite all my rage, i am still just a go-go dancer in a cage.

thisiswhyyourefat.com visit it. now.

unbelievable sexism in old advertising most women, especially feminists, would be up in arms and straight up offended by a lot of the old advertisements found from the 50's, 60's and even 70's. i think they're fucking hilarious. (find more here)

2/16/11

over the past few weeks, i've visited urban outfitters (they're having some crazy sales lately), the sunday st. lawrence antique market, the new 69 collective and tomorrow never knows and found some f'in cute things for jesse and i's love shack. guaranteed a super cheap (and super cute) way to revamp your space!

john lennon-esque vintage navy hat found at the st. lawrence sunday antique market for $6

porcelain owl on far left and the yellow found at urban outfitters, $2-$10, green owl found at dollarama, $2, vintage owl salt & pepper shakers, found at st. lawrence sunday antique market, $10 for the pair, picture also found at the st. lawrence market

this past friday, shirk magazine was invited to the white crow launch at toronto's sleeping giant gallery where i interviewed creator/developer/designer of white crow jin ryu and got a sugary taste of something fresh and undeniable to the toronto fashion world. surrounded by smiling faces and torontonian cutie pies, i sifted through racks of garments that you can find only at www.whitecrowonline.com and had a hard time not leaving with an empty wallet. but the amazing thing about white crow is that you can get a lot for you buck, but find amazing peieces that guarenteed you won't see on every other person walking down crowded city sidewalks. i talked to jin about white crow, how it started and how she plans on changing the way city kids dress.

shirk: tell me how white crow started!

jin: i was going to ryerson for fashion; it was very much focussed on the business side of the industry but i had always dreamed of opening up my own store. i ended up visiting south korea where everything there changed the way i looked at fashion. everything was so trendy but incredibly affordable. you can find fashion-forward and independent labels in toronto but i found that most stuff found in our boutiques are pretty expensive. i wanted to bring cool, street style inspired clothing to toronto that's inexpensive.

shirkish: and when deciding what garments to offer on white crow, what inspired you?

jin: not really a clothing line or person in general; just the over all idea of pieces that you can bring home and easily match with your clothing at home. i admire the way you can work an item with an outfit. i'm always inspired by watching people walk down the street and how they have put themselves together before they left the house. but i do read jak and jill blog a lot!

shirkish: tell me a bit about your team, how you know them and how they've helped in making white crow come to life.

jin: i've known rachel rui wu for a while; we met in university and have always gotten along so well. she has a great sense of style and she's never afraid to give me her 100% real deal truth on something when i want honest opinion about an idea or piece or whatever; i can talk to her about anything. and i chose caroline konitzer because she's beautiful, so stylish, a friend and everyone knows and loves her, so

it was a no brainer.

shirkish: what are your hopes and dreams for the future of white crow?

jin: i want to be toronto's favorite boutique; a way smaller, independent and affordable "top shop" in a way; i want to dress real people.

2/12/11

2/11/11

HOW JESSE NEVER JUDGESso i'm at work, right. and i had to calculate tax on an invoice. i was sitting on google for 5-10 minutes searching "how to calculate hst". is that not the stupidest thing you've ever heard? ever? i was ashamed before, but no longer; i'm not afraid to admit, I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TAX/BASIC MATH EQUATIONS. so instead of panicking at the office, i call jesse. shoots me back an answer point blank with no judgement or snark in his tone of voice. all i wanted was the answer, and that's what i got. thanks jesse.

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i love stock photos.

﻿﻿DEEJAYING WITH LINDSAYit's been a few weeks, but we're back baby; bangs & blush are taking back clintons tomorrow night with our valentines day edition of shake, rattle & roll: bangs & blush have a crush! deejaying has become my haven for relaxation, good times and letting loose. and it's even better when my partner fucking leaves me in stitches laughing, dances around like an idiot with me and helps me plan killer parties. i can't wait for tomorrow night ya'll, and i hope to see your faces. and never forget: DRINK. DANCE. GET MESSY.

and did i mention that we've got 400+ valentines for FREE at our featured valentine kiosk where you can come and write a valentine to your sweetie-pie/crush, care of bangs & blush! you know you want a fucking reptiles & bugs valentine.

YOGURTfuck, i've been eating a shitload of yogurt lately! my favorite is peach and raspberry. it completely kills any craving i have for anything. and i love buying insane amounts of fresh berries like blueberries, wild berries...and just throwing that shit in there, mixing it up and enjoying the FUCK out of it. FUCK I WANT THIS MUG... TWO OF 'EM.

THE SALOON SALONlocated just a pinch east of ossington on harbord, the saloon salon is a cute little spot run by two amazingly talented hair dressers, kat marcus and daina schreiber, in what used to be called glam. jesse had been getting his hair cut put daina for years and swore by her, and i recently met kat at a party where she was super awesome and complimented me on my hair. i said i needed a bang cut, and she flashed me her saloon card. went in, and not only is it super close to my house, super cute and the ladies are super nice, but my bang cut was dead on perfect. i totally recommend this place for peeps who want an affordable yet incredible hair cut/style by someone who truly knows their shit. visit their website to check out kat and daina's creds if you don't believe me! http://www.thesaloonsalon.com

BLACK BEATLE BOOTSi need me a pair. i've had some beatle-boot fakes before, but i want the ones with buckles on the side. i've been looking everywhere but toronto has insanely disappointed me. i found some cool black leather vintage boots at queen of vintage in parkdale in autumn but... where the hell do i find em? i want babies like this: